Locals take on women’s Rebel Rally in Nevada for charity

From October 11 to 20, 2018, Rebel Rally, the first women’s off-road navigation rally raid in the US, will take place in the Nevada desert. For this second edition, two participants from St Barts will be at the start.

Laurence Belloeil – who twice done the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, in 2012 and 2014 – and Fanny Marchesi will tackle the 2,000 km of “dirt roads, double tracks, open desert, and sand dunes” in a Jeep.

The friends will carry the torch of solidarity that has formed on the island post-Irma and have chosen their team name accordingly: “Irma’s Rebelle”.

The two have their sights on winning the Fair Play Prize and Best International Team Prize, and will donate any money to the St Gustavia-based non-profit, l’Association Galops des Îles.

The St Barts equestrian centre suffered heavily in the hands of Irma: six of their horses unfortunately did not survive and, as all the facilities were destroyed, the Galops des Îles has to rebuild everything but is lacking funds.

The 10-day event, of which 8 days are racing, will cost Team Irma’s Rebelle $26,700 (less than the Gazelles Rally), which includes registration fee, base camp accommodation and three meals a day, a safety team, and an introductory online navigation course.

Anyone interested in supporting Irma’s Rebelle can contact Laurence by mail at laurencebelloeil971@gmail.com or on Facebook Irma’s Rebelle.